Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The blog below was originally published in Soles of Silk's Column section. It was archived and then republished here in 2016.In the past few weeks I've been quite busy getting in photo shoots with the likes of Jamie, Charlee, Wendy, and Jessie. This past week, however, I was on vacation and wanted to make use of an entire week off. I made plans with a handful of models throughout the week.The temperature during this time was some of the hottest in the Baltimore/D.C. area - hence the column title, "Hot Feet Week." Of course the feet before me were just as hot, if not hotter than the 100 degree temperatures the girls and I were encountering.

On Monday I had plans to shoot with Mindee. My plan was to only shoot models who had no photos remaining for me to use for future updates. Mindee, however, was my only exception to that. I had one unpublished set of her from a little over a month ago. Mindee had told me a a couple of weeks back that she'd be going out of town a few times and would be hard pressed to find time to shoot. Because of this I made an exception and penciled her in. Can you blame me anyhow? I mean, come on, it's Mindee! Honestly, I probably would have made plans with her if I had four sets of her still unpublished.

Set 1 of the Week - Water WheelIn the days prior to our shoot, I was still trying to determine where I was going to shoot all of the girls, with one exception, Mileena, who was scheduled to do a an entire day of shooting and thus, I prepared her locations well in advance. In Mindee's case, the day before I was looking over some shoot locations when I found a park on the west side of town. Along a stream in the park was a large water wheel that had been preserved. Being a sucker for unique locations, I knew I wanted to use it.

On the day of the shoot Mindee and I had a little bit of an issue locating the entrance to the park. The park is quite large and we were looking for the entrance closest to the water wheel. We still had to walk a trail to get to the location, but on a day where the temperature was just under 100 degrees, I wanted to minimize the walk as much as possible.

Once we arrived and made our way to the water wheel, Mindee got to posing. She started the set out in a light purple pair of flip flops. Mindee had a purple theme going on with her shirt being almost the same color as her flip flops and her toes freshly pedicured in a darker bluish-purple. That color was picked the day prior when she sent me a text asking what colors she hasn't done in a set. I told her purple and yellow were the only colors - not counting white, black, or metallics.

The location ended up being a little on the darker side as it was totally under trees. A number of the photos came out a blurry and/or dark, but there is enough of this set that remains for all of Mindee's fans to enjoy.

Set 2 of the Week - Gwynn Falls RocksMindee's second set on the day was done at the same park. After changing her clothes we made our way along the path to our second location. There was a small bridge along the trail I intended to use. I have been having good luck shooting around bridges lately, as Mindee knew since she had done the recently posted Paper Mill Bridge set the month before. Anyhow, while on top the bridge we both looked over to see a ton of large rocks with some small waterfalls and rapids going through. I looked to the end of the bridge and saw a small path going down under the bridge. I suggested we go down there to see if we might want to shoot there instead. Once we made it down, we knew we liked the scenery below better.

During this set both Mindee and I struggled with balance and finding comfortable spots to shoot and pose. We made due, however, and I got some really great shots with the rocks, water, and bridge behind Mindee's soft soles and smiling face. At the end of the shoot I even had her putting her feet down into the rapids some for some artistic toe shots. I really like how these came out and I am sure a few of them might find their way into the Wallpapers section of the Downloads area.

We only had time to shoot two sets this day. I tried to book more time with Mindee later on in the week, but without any luck. She really wanted to pose for a few more sets, but was unable to do so. I told her to find me some time once she gets back from her upcoming trips and she agreed.

After the drive home I uploaded all of Mindee's pictures to the computer and then began brainstorming for the next day. Ryan was set to pose in the afternoon and Kellie in the evening.

The blog below was originally published in Soles of Silk's Column section. It was archived and then republished here in 2016.Continued from Hot Feet Week: 2012 Edition, Part 1 - MindeeAfter trying to come up with a couple of locations to shoot Ryan the night before after finishing up with Mindee, I was driving to Ryan's with two shoot locations I really wasn't crazy about. When I arrived to find Ryan in a cute dress, looking damn good, I knew we had to come up with something else. The locations I had come up with wouldn't had worked with the outfits she picked out to wear. I thought she looked too good to make her change into more casual attire too. It was now time for a group brainstorm.

After throwing around ideas Ryan suggested we just go downtown. She said there was enough interesting stuff there that we'd be bound to find something. I agreed and we went on our way.

Set 3 of the Week - Inner Harbor Pier 5I drove us to a location where I had done a handful of sets in the past with the likes of Kimmie, Mariah, and Carlin. Of course two of the locations Ryan really liked I had used before. Those being the waterfront bench from Kimmie's City Marina set and Carlin's Katyn Memorial Fountain set. She gave me some playful banter about using up all the good spots as we kept walking.

Getting closer to Baltimore's Inner Harbor, I pointed out a few locations I had shot Aliza, saying if worse came to worse, we could reuse those locations. We, however, found a spot by one of the cities historical buildings. It was along the waterfront and had a nice view of the city. We found ourselves a bench near a lamppost and began.

In the set Ryan did quite a bit of shoe removal shots and even put them back on at the end. Usually I have the models remove the shoes and shoot the rest barefoot. Sometimes I start them off barefoot and have them put their shoes on toward the end. I don't recall if I've ever had a girl do both, so that is unique.

Once this set is posted you'll find some of the shots in this set are a little on the artistic side. Ryan enjoys posing and she inspires me to kick it up a notch and add in a little of my artistic talents. Yes, the shots are still about her dreamy size 8's, but some of the poses aren't the typical sole, toe, or shoe shots. If you've looked through her past sets, you've already seen similar - especially in her Railroad Spikes set as that one was on the artsy side as well.

Set 4 of the Week - Aquarium FountainSince I had plans later in the evening to shoot with Kellie and since Ryan had previous obligations, we decided to find a second location nearby. After taking a quick break to cool off in a deli (it was a toasty 98 degrees outside), Ryan changed and we were on our way.

When making our way over to the Baltimore Aquarium I told Ryan that one of Aliza's sets was done in front of the building, but along the side there was a water fountain I had always wanted to use. So that is where we went.

With it being so hot the walls of the fountain were scorching. There was no way Ryan could have laid on that wall or even sat on it. Luckily for us, a corner area of the fountain was in the shade. We walked over and I put my hand down on the wall. It was warm, but not even close to hot. I was a little worried about the color in the set though. Shooting in the shade with the majority of the background in the sun can mess with your light meter. But I lucked out. I snapped a couple test shots and they looked good.

This set has Ryan starting off in some white sandals, but after pulling them off, they don't go back on - as in the previous set. In this set you'll see Ryan's dirty soles from stepping on the city sidewalks between photos. Believe me when I say it doesn't take long for a girl's feet to get dirty when shooting downtown. By the end of the set, however, Ryan is sticking her feet into the fountain and showing them off. This set has a bit of everything.

Once this set was completed Ryan and I began a long, hot walk back to the car. During that time, Kellie sent me a text saying she was going to be done really late at work and she was still up for shooting. She doubted, however, that we'd have enough daylight to shoot outdoors. She offered to do indoor shots, or reschedule if I preferred. I told her we should reschedule because I really wanted to shoot outside. Most of her recent sets have been done indoors as we shot them in the winter.

Oh well, now I had a couple of days to plan where I wanted to shoot Kellie and go over my plans for Mileena, who agreed to do an entire day of shooting. I had already picked a number of locations along a four hour road trip, but wanted to go over them again to be sure.Continued on Hot Feet Week: 2012 Edition, Part 3 - Mileena

Mileena was the first person I made plans to shoot with during my vacation time. Our plans were to get together for an entire day of pictures. Originally I wasn't sure where we were going to go for the day. I thought maybe the beach, but wasn't sold on it.

A few days later, while uploading Wendy's newest photo sets from a few weeks ago, I was reminded of a place I used to go as a kid. The place is called Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia. I was reminded of it because when I shot Wendy, we shot in a town we used to pass through on the way. I shot Mileena a text and some photos of the falls and she was quickly on board with the idea.

Knowing the ride to Blackwater would be around four hours, I wanted to see if I could come up with several locations to shoot along the way. First of all, it would break up the long drive and second, with it being so hot, I thought it would give us time to rest and cool off. I also figured that it would make for a wider variety in scenery. So the plans were made and Friday came.

Set 5 of the Week - City Park Foot BridgeAfter picking Mileena up at 7:30 a.m. we were on our way. My original plan was to stop and shoot in the same town I shot Wendy. Since that area isn't that far away though, I decided to pass it up to have more time at the locations further away. That turned out to be a good choice.

We arrived at our first location, a park in Hagerstown, Md. where I saw a unique stream/pond that was surrounded by lots of rocks and a wooden foot bridge. There was plenty of places to shoot around the water as rocks and stone walls surrounded the spot. Unfortunately, however, the bench sitting on the top was occupied by one, then two gentlemen reading books and they looked to be in no rush to leave. Not wanting to wait around forever, we shot pretty much all around them and then made our way back to the car. We took a quick break for some breakfast and I set the next closest location into the GPS.

Set 6 of the Week - Railroad Lift BridgeThe second location for the day ended up being in a small town less than 10 miles away from Hagerstown. It was an old railroad lift bridge (like a draw bridge) that passed over the C&O Canal, which is funny because miles away our next locations would also be along this very long trail. More on that later.

I wasn't sure if we'd be able to actually go onto the bridge or not from what I saw online. When we arrived I was pleased to see that we could. I had Mileena take a few quick shots back from the bridge so you could see the entire thing in the background. We then moved onto it to shoot.

Luckily the metal wasn't too hot for her to sit on or prop her little feet onto. By the end of the set, however, I was running out of ideas and we ended up crossing the canal and shooting on some nearby tracks. This also provided us with more shots with most of, or all of the lift bridge in the background.

During this set we really felt just how hot it was going to be on the day. It was a good thing I only planned for the one set at the location and we got to go back to the car for the air conditioner.

Set 7 of the Week - Western Maryland Railroad StationWe had a bit of a drive to get to our next locations. I wasn't complaining, however, as it felt good to get out of the hot sun. Before long, however, we arrived in a town called Cumberland. I had never stopped in this town, but always thought it was a neat looking with lots of historical buildings. I took this into account when researching the possible shoot locations.

The first of the two locations I had come up for Cumberland was the Western Maryland Railroad Station. The station itself was an older looking building with a neat water fountain beside it. I wasn't there for the fountain, however, and we made our way up the steps to the actual train platform. We were happy to find that there wasn't a single person around and the area was well shaded by the canopy above. Anytime we could get out of the sun was refreshing.

Benches lined the station on both sides. One side had a few train cars, engines and a bright red caboose parked on a spare set of tracks. I tried to keep them in the background as much as possible. At one point, Mileena even jumped up on one of the engines for a few shots. Hey, there were no signs saying we couldn't!

This set saw Mileena's feet get quite dirty. While shooting you could see the slight black tint to her soft soles. I think they picked up the dust so well because prior to this shoot I gave Mileena a quick foot rub with some lotion and sanitizer to keep her feet looking nice and soft. Being they were moist, it looks like it just soaked up the dirt even more. Oh well, a dirty foot set isn't a bad thing.

Set 8 of the Week - C&O Canal BridgeAfter a quick break in the station to cool down and grab a drink, Mileena changed for the next set. While we were on the train platform I had been eyeing up the different bridges that crossed the nearby river every which way imaginable. There are a total of five different bridges in this one spot. A couple of them are for the C&O Trail - the same trail the railroad lift bridge in the previous town was located on. Then there was a bridge for the railroad tracks leading to the train station as well as a couple of bridges for motor vehicles.

I ended up picking one of the pedestrian bridges because I liked the color and it was a little more shady being beside some trees. Once again, the shade was our friend. We shot below, in the middle of, and at the end of this bridge. We got some really good angles here as we were lucky enough to only have a few people pass us by. It left us able to shoot whatever we wanted without being bothered.

Once we were done in Cumberland we went back to the car and proceeded to make our way to the main location I had wanted to use - Blackwater Falls.

Set 9 of the Week - Blackwater FallsThe trip from Cumberland to Blackwater took a little bit of time and Mileena decided to catch up on some sleep. While driving I began eyeing up old looking buildings and landmarks thinking how doing a set there would be neat. I kept them to thoughts though as I wanted to get to Blackwater with some time to shoot. I figured we could do more than just Blackwater Falls itself as the park is big enough to find a few more locations.

When we arrived Mileena changed once more and we made our way down the long path and boardwalk to the falls. This is where we encountered a snag. I fully figured there would be tourists here, and there were a few. That wasn't the issue, however. Since I had last been there they had changed the fencing and posts along the boardwalk by the falls. There were also no benches on the lower landing closest to the actual falls. Everything I shot, the falls were pretty much viewable only through the posts of the fencing. I got in a few standing shots that show more of the falls, but both Mileena and I were let down. We had planned this whole trip around this location and we just didn't feel like the shots were going to be as amazing as we had thought. We kept shooting though and to be honest, they look a lot better upon review than I thought they did while taking them.

As we were making our way back to the car, I asked Mileena if she wanted to try to get in another set. I had seen pictures of another, smaller, waterfall in the park online, but wasn't sure if we would run into the same issue again. Mileena said she was game for another set, so we began driving around the park looking for either the other falls or something that looked like it might be interesting enough to use.

After a bit of driving we came upon the park lodge. I told Mileena it might be good to stop in for a quick bathroom break so we could rest up, she could change, and I could find a park map. While she was off in the bathroom, I asked an employee about the second waterfall location and she gave me a map, and highlighted a path to follow. Luckily for us, it was right behind the lodge and what looked to only be a few hundred feet away. When Mileena was done in the bathroom, I told her the good news and we were on our way.

Set 10 of the Week - Elakala FallsIt took us no time to get to the second set of falls, called Elakala Falls. When we arrived we both looked at each other and smiled. There was a boardwalk bridge over the falls, but the path afterward went down along side the water. There were signs that said, "No Swimming," but I didn't see anything about not taking photos. Mileena and I made our way down the steep path and over quite a few mossy rocks to the rocks below the falls. I was like a kid in a candy store and told Mileena that this location made all the bad feelings about the last one go away. She was very happy as well.

It was only 6:00 p.m. so we still had some light left. We were under a lot of cover with the trees overhead, but it was so diffused that it was giving me real soft lighting. The other good thing about this location, there was no one around. Every so often people would come by, but they'd be high up on the bridge. We paid them no mind and shot one of the most unique and beautiful locations I've ever had in a set. With the setting inspiring me, I even messed with some of the camera functions to give the water falling over the rocks some different effects.

Once we finished this set we decided to call it a day. We were both hungry and exhausted. We had done six sets and I was more than happy with those results.

We made our way back to the lodge and decided to just go ahead and eat there. Why not support the park that supplied us with the great backgrounds for our last two sets? It was during dinner where I also sent Kellie a text about shooting the following day. I asked her if we could avoid shooting early as I knew I'd be sleeping in after this long day with Mileena. She said yes and to send her a text when I woke up.

Well, the day before with Mileena had been great, but long. I had gotten up at 6 a.m. and didn't get home until almost 1 a.m. the following day. To say I crashed when I hit the bed would be an understatement. Still, I got up around noon and sent Kellie a text. I asked her when she would be open to shoot. After a while she responded that she had a wedding to attend in the evening, but had to get ready prior. Knowing I had Sunday open, I asked her if it would be better to just wait until then. She said yes, so that's what we did. It also gave me a chance to unwind after the previous day.

Once I was up and situated on Sunday I told Kellie to let me know when she was free to shoot. She told me she was the one who had a long night this time, so we planned on getting together around 1:30 p.m., instead of earlier.

When I picked Kellie up, like Ryan a few days prior, she was dressed in a very pretty dress and had her nails, both fingers and toes, painted silver. I had been itching to do silver nails for a while, so that made me happy.

We only had three hours before Kellie had to be back, so we got in the car and I began driving to a place Kellie wanted to use. Well, it turns out that spot was the exact spot I shot Jessie a few weeks ago. I kept driving and went to a place I know from shooting Carmen years ago, and recently Olivia. It's a historic mill with some additional old stone buildings. Carmen used one of them, shooting at the Blacksmith Building. That same day, Carmen also shot where they had closed a portion of a Bridge where they were building a foot bridge. That foot bridge appears in the background of Kellie's first set, and is also the same stream Olivia shot along when she did her Covered Bridge set earlier in the year.

Set 11 of the Week - Little Gunpowder FallsSince Kellie had wanted to shoot at the stream location Jessie used (set still unpublished), she was quite happy we had found this spot. There were quite a few larger rocks along the shoreline that we used. I made sure to keep the bridges in the background as I thought it was much more interesting than shooting the other way.

Although it wasn't as hot on this day as in the days prior, it still was hot enough. Kellie even joked that if I see sweat in the pictures to just tell everyone she had went swimming in the stream.

After the set we made our way back to the car. Kellie grabbed her bright teal dress and went behind a wall to get changed. I teased her that I should just shoot her changing as the set would be awesome. She agreed that everyone would probably love that one. I know I would have!

Set 12 of the Week - Jerusalem MillThe second location was only a few hundred feet away in front of the mill itself. Being bright red and having some flowers and bright plants behind a bench on the grounds, we decided to use it. We didn't have a bunch of time left, so I just told her to stick her soles out and I began shooting away.

We got countless shots of those slender soles, but I kept making sure her silver toes were included. I really did love this color. With Kellie being tan, it just popped nicely. She also had me pluck one of the flowers nearby and posed her feet with it toward the end. It made for some cute shots.

After this set was done, we were both a sweaty mess. Kellie had to get back home and I had to figure out what my plans were for my final day of vacation. I was supposed to go to Knoebel's park with a fellow roller coaster loving friend, but on Thursday I tweaked my back. Although I was able to be mobile, I was scared bouncing around on those wooden roller coasters might not be the best of ideas. My friend agreed so we decided it best to wait and go later on.

Having the next day now free, I sent a text to Nikki. She had asked me if I had Monday free a few days prior and offered to shoot. Since I originally had plans for the amusement park, I had to decline. Now that I was no longer going, I asked her if she still wanted to shoot. She replied she was free in the morning for a few hours, so I booked her. Then I figured, why not see what Olivia is up to later in the evening. I sent her a text and after some small talk, I had plans to shoot her the following day too.

So my final day of vacation arrived and my original plans to go to Knoebel's Amusement Park were scrapped due to my sore back. I was happy that Nikki was still available to squeeze in a few quick sets with me though. And that's just what we did.

We met up at 9:00 a.m. and headed to a local park. She didn't have a ton of time and wanted to try and do several sets. I wanted to get at least two, maybe three sets with her anyhow, so off we went.

Set 13 of the Week - BirdhousesOnce we arrived we looked around the area and decided it was best to just start walking the paths around the park. Upon doing so we arrived at a large rock with a large post that had numerous birdhouses hanging from it. It was different, but also secluded, so we went for it.

Nikki started this set in her black flip flops, which she pushed from her feet before long. The rest of the set awarded me with countless views of her slender soles - soles which I haven't seen in quite some time. It has been a little over a year since her last update on the site, so it was nice having her posing again.

Set 14 of the Week - Gazebo SandalsAfter shooting the birdhouse set, Nikki slipped on a different shirt and we were on our way. We continued along the path, going back behind some of the cattails, but not really finding much in the way of a location to shoot. At the next break we made our way back into the main area of the park and decided that a nearby nature center might supply us with better locations. As we were walking back, however, I looked at a gazebo and said, "Why not?"

Nikki went and sat down on the benches inside the gazebo. She was looking through her bag and asked me if I wanted her to use her sandals. She pulled them out and I immediately said yes. I loved them and thought it matched her black and gray shirt perfectly.

I have often said that some of the unexpected, spur of the moment shoots turn out amazing. This was one of those shoots. Every few seconds Nikki would just move into a position, or strike a pose and I loved it enough to shoot it. I was barely asking her to do anything - she was just doing pose after pose after pose. Before you knew it, we had done more than 80 photos and I decided to finish off the set.

At this point I knew we didn't have a bunch of time left so I asked Nikki if she wanted to try to get in a third one. She told me it was up to me. I replied that I wanted a third one, but didn't want to keep her from her previous plans. She told me let's go do a third one. We headed to the car, she got changed, and we were off to the nature center we had originally planned to go to before using the gazebo.

Set 15 of the Week - Muddy TrailWhen we arrived at the nature center our first stop was at a large map. I had used the location before with both Charlee in her Marsh Overlook set and Jamie in her Marsh Bridge set. The area had quite a few trails and scenic places, so we jumped on the white trail and started to head to one.

While on the path through the woods I looked down to see how muddy the ground was. Earlier in the day I had sent a text to Nikki and told her that she could always do a muddy feet set since it had rained earlier that morning. At that time she said she was game.

As we continued down the path we were stopped by a few trees that had fallen. There was no getting around this as the areas off the path weren't passable either. I looked at Nikki and said, "Well, it looks like muddy feet it is."

We began walking back the way we came as I had saw an area with quite a few fallen logs and some random boards laying on the path. I knew it would be the best area for Nikki to pose. I am not one for just putting a girl on the ground and posing. I like for her to have things to interact with, to prop her feet onto, or sit on. Those logs gave us that.

It didn't take long for Nikki's feet to get really dirty. I made the comment that I bet she didn't realize how much guys: A) Loved her feet and B) Loved her feet when dirty. She agreed and said she was surprised, but thought it was really fun.

Once we were done the set, we made our way back to the car and headed home. Working odd hours Nikki wanted to get some sleep and I had to get home to plan where I was going to shoot Olivia in a few hours.

After getting home from Nikki's shoots I began uploading her photos to the computer. While doing so I started looking for a place to shoot Olivia in a few hours. I sent her a quick text to see if she was still limited to two hours, which she was.

About an hour before we were set to shoot I decided shoot locally to maximize our time to try and get in two sets. I drove out to a waterfront park that I have used in the past with several models, including: Faith, Cierra, and Nikki. Faith did her Flower Flip Flops set, Cierra her Muddy Shoreline set, and Nikki did a set on the Boat Ramp all at this same park. It gets hard not to use a few locations over and over, but I can usually find a spot I hadn't yet used. That was the case with the two sets Olivia did for me to cap off my vacation week.

Set 16 of the Week - Broken Tree TableBefore Olivia and I were set to meet at the park, I headed down to scout out possible locations. I wanted to be sure we didn't have to waste shoot time looking around for a spot to shoot.

I ended up finding a recently downed tree that was literally hanging over a picnic table. About a week and a half prior, the region experienced some bad thunderstorms and it looked like this tree was blown over. The storm was also responsible for the downed tree on the path in Nikki's set earlier in the day and was also the reason why the gift shop at Blackwater Falls was closed in West Virginia on the day Mileena shot. Yes, it had that much effect.

Anyhow, I had Olivia start this set off in her black flip flops under the tree. After a while I got her up on the table itself and she began kicking them off to reveal her bare soles.

By this time the sun was out in all its glory. Earlier in the day, when I shot with Nikki, the sun was mostly behind the clouds. Fast forward to the evening and it was no longer the case. Both Olivia and I were feeling the heat. It was probably a good thing she kicked those flip flops off before they got sweaty, huh? Maybe not...

Set 17 of the Week - Rocky ShorelineThe second set presented a bit of an issue. I had scouted out several other locations to shoot after we finished up under the downed tree. Well, all three locations just so happened to have people hanging out around them. No one had been at any of them for over an hour prior to us shooting. It figures!

I decided to just start walking and find a spot to shoot Olivia's second set. After passing a few spots we decided to just shoot on the rocks that lined the shore. There was a small tree hanging over the rocks with some plants in the distance. It was good enough for me.

Olivia climbed down on the rocks and I followed behind her. I was cautious as my back was still bothering me slightly, but I ended up being okay. I just didn't want to take a tumble here and not only hurt myself, but probably destroy my camera in the process.

I had Olivia find several rocks and stick her feet out toward the camera. There wasn't going to be much creativity with poses, so it was up to me to get good angles - and I think I did. In many of the shots you can also see some of the sun shining through the nearby trees out on the rocks and onto Olivia as well.

Once we were done the set Olivia and I headed back to our cars. She wanted to look over her photos before departing. I handed her the camera and we made some small talk about an idea we have to go up to Atlantic City and do some sets. We're both really excited for that. We're planning something like Mileena's day where we do a larger number of sets. But for now, you have 17 total sets from six different models to look forward to. I hope you like all the sets you saw and I'd like to thank Mindee, Ryan, Mileena, Kellie, Nikki, and Olivia for giving me some of their time this past week to do some awesome photos at some awesome locations. Let me know what sets you like. I'm sure the models would also like to hear some of your comments.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

The blog below was originally published in Soles of Silk's Column section. It was archived and then republished here in 2016.I mentioned that Kayleigh had shot her set for the June 2012 Wu's Feet Links Feature Model set a few columns ago. Well, the set went up last weekend and people have already been sending me emails and making posts on Wu's Forum on this thread about the set. Looks like the set has been a hit.

Now that the set is posted, I will get into the backstory a little as I didn't want to spill the beans, or post any previews online until Wu posted the gallery. I like to keep everyone guessing for these sets, which I love doing for Wu each year since he first asked me if I'd be interested in doing one with Carmen, her Train Switch set, in 2006. Kayleigh's After School Feet set is actually the seventh feature set from Soles of Silk since Carmen's. Here are links to each of those sets for those of you who might have missed them - although all are linked on each model's personal pages:

When it came to shooting Kayleigh's feature set, I wanted to do something unique, which is getting harder and harder to do these days. Being online since late 2004 and the part of me that still wants to put some kind of element of art, or creativity in each set, does that to you. But enough on that tangent as I can write an entire column on backgrounds, settings, and themes - which I probably will do soon.

So Kayleigh and I were trying to come up with some ideas in the winter months knowing her set was on the horizon. I asked Wu to save her for a warmer month as we wanted to do something outside. One day, while driving down my street, I was behind a school bus and had to keep stopping. It reminded me that one of Kayleigh's relatives is a school bus driver. If I could get her on a school bus for a set, we could do a school's out theme since her set was slated for the month of June.

Fast forward a few months and I was meeting Kayleigh on a rainy day with a school bus before us. She had asked her relative and they agreed. We jumped on the bus during a break between runs and shot lots of pictures as the rain drizzled down on top the bus.

Now the set is online for all to see. There is a little bit of everything in this one. She starts off in tennis shoes, wet ones having posed for a few shots outside in the rain, then goes to socks, and finally bare. And don't miss out on her binder as it has a couple cute messages for you to read.

Congratulations Kayleigh for becoming the newest feature model on Wu's Feet Links and for representing Soles of Silk very well over the few years you've been posing. Being picked for this set is a well deserved honor.

Wu's Feet Links

Visit Wu's Feet Links

Contact

Name

Email
*

Message
*

Contact the Models

A number of the Soles of Silk models have their very own Instagram and Twitter accounts where fans can reach them. Please feel free to let them know how much you enjoyed their work here, but above all else, please be respectful. If you don't see a model on the lists below, they do not have accounts set up to be reached. For those models, please forward any comments to the main Soles of Silk accounts.

Wu's Feet Links Feature Sets, Interviews, & Columns

Back in 2005, only a few short months after Soles of Silk debut, Carmen became the first model to represent the site as a Wu's Feet Links feature model. I was deeply honored that Wu would ask me to take part in this prestigious section on his site. What I didn't know, however, was that he'd ask me to do so over and over again - each time with different models from Soles of Silk. My models have always been flattered to be picked to do these sets and I've always made sure to do some of my best work with each and every one of them.

After Wu's passing in 2014, I made sure the feature section would be a top priority in rebooting his site - Olivia's "Back to Business" site saw the relaunch of that section. Below you will find each and every set ever to be featured on Wu's Feet Links from Soles of Silk. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed shooting them.

In addition to the feature sets, two more items I decided to reboot was the Interviews and Columns sections. With the success of blogs today, I decided it would be a wise move to take those sections and create blogs for each one. I moved over all the interviews and columns from the past and have since taken over conducting/writing both. Below you will also find any interviews and/or columns that predominately feature one of the Soles of Silk models. (Note: A couple of the interviews listed are with models who either run, or at one time, ran their own sites and/or clips stores. These models also posed for Soles of Silk, so I decided to feature them here as well.)